Handguns have been stored in vehicles in various ways. Sometimes they are simply placed under the driver seat or in a glove compartment, where they are highly susceptible to theft. To prevent such theft, a device for securely storing a gun within a vehicle would be very desirable.
A variety of devices for storing handguns are known in the art, including those described in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,205 to Burt et al. describes a gun container having a hollow base portion for holding a handgun and a cover that fits over the base portion. The cover is provided with inwardly projecting pins that engage and transverse U-shaped grooves in the base portion when the cover is manipulated sequentially downward, forward, and upward with respect to the base portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,838 to Cislo describes a lockbox for pistols having two housings joined by a hinge. A first latch locks the housings together to secure the pistol in the box; a second latch releasably secures the box to a stationary object such as a bed frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,466, also to Cislo, describes a lockbox for pistols having two connected housings that can be locked together and a bracket for securing the box to a stationary object. The bracket is attached to one of the housings and can only be detached from the stationary object when the box is open.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,994 to Beletsky et. al. describes a gun storage container having a hinged lockable cover for opening the end of the container nearest to the grip of a handgun stored therein. Fixtures within the container engage the barrel portion and a second portion of the gun and enables it to be withdrawn from the container when the cover is opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,086 to MacTaggert describes a gun storage having a locking bar within the container. The locking bar has a first unlocked position and a second locked position, and the bar can be moved from the locked to the unlocked position only when a release switch within the container is pressed by the exertion of a predetermined pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,440 to Patterson describes a portable storage container for a handgun that is a plastic rectangular container that is lockable by means of a shank extending through the container and lid and provided with a bore that accommodates a padlock.
These and other devices described in the art are often expensive, or inconvenient, or unsuited for use in a vehicle. The device of the present invention meets the needs for the convenient, inexpensive storage of guns in a vehicle.